Chocolate Pudding For Lunch!

The memories I have of my GrandMa are very few but vivid.  She rarely spoke English. Mostly Arabic but, it seemed like she was always mumbling something.  I remember that, until she passed away, she and I shared a bedroom.  That never bothered me. In fact, I found in comforting to know my GrandMa was there.

I remember that she began to deteriorate into senility which, instead of scaring me, made me smile a lot. One night I woke up to find her trying to tie a coat hanger onto the shade cord of the window.  "What are you doin' GrandMa??" I asked. "Need a light in the window for Habib", she said.  Habib was GrandDad's name and he had been dead for several years.

The Bed On The Left Was GrandMa's. This was about the age I was when she died.

GrandMa was a fabulous cook. I loved everything she made EXCEPT boiled okra.  That stuff is disgusting and I can't believe my family actually ate it.  Yuck!!

As a young boy, GrandMa would pick me up and sit me on the kitchen counter.  She would then proceed to feed me spoons of white sugar.  Yep.  Plain old table sugar. She told me more than once to "Eat this.  It will make your teeth strong and white." I know you're thinking she was crazy but, to this day, I have not yet had a single cavity.  I still love a big ole spoon of white sugar.

GrandMa didn't smile much because she had damaged teeth.  A couple were broken and, I guess, she was embarrassed.  I was in 5th grade at Silver Bluff Elementary when my aunt Mary picked me up after school.  GrandMa was in the back seat which wasn't unusual.  I turned around to say hi and I was stunned by this HUGE white smile.  She had gotten her teeth fixed.  That changed her personality dramatically for the few remaining years of her life.

Back To The Chocolate Pudding!

A little over a year ago I was at a Cracker Barrel having breakfast when I bit down hard on a hard piece of bacon. It really hurt and it got worse as we drove on to Florida.  I couldn't chew anything.  Had a horrible vacation.

It didn't get better so I screwed up my courage and headed to the dentist. I went to a friend in my church who I knew well and liked a lot, David Anderson.  David and his sweet wife Susan are both dentists and I trusted them. David found the tooth to be OK but filed it down some to get the pressure off.  It got a lot better but a couple months after this visit, I bit down on something and cracked the tooth in half.  Same tooth.

After a few months of stupidly thinking it would get better, I finally went to an oral surgeon and had it removed. 

Have to eat soft stuff for a few days and Chocolate Pudding is definitely soft.  My precious wife just finished making a batch.

I do have to say that because I have never had a cavity, my fear level was really high.  Blood pressure was 199/110. The surgeon sent me home the first time last month but I was able to squeak under the limit this time and get it done.  I just now took my BP and it's down to 139/88.  Not perfect but the stress of the tooth thing was obviously worse than I imagined.

Note Added 4/10/10  - BP is at 127/80 Yay!

Thanks to all who prayed for me through this.  I love you all.

Buzzard